Under the Open Skies
by LittleMissMonday
Summary: When a young angel-like alien crash lands on earth, the team adopts her as one of their own. She is kind to everyone she meets, but her wings were damaged in the crash, leaving everyone to wonder if she'll ever fly again. (This story is also being posted on Wattpad)
1. Intro

The day was slow. Literally nothing had been happening. Gwen had even gone home to take care of Rhys and Anwen. Toshiko had devolved to watching cat videos, Owen had fallen asleep on the med-bay table, and Jack and Ianto had disappeared hours ago to get pizza. All in all, a very boring day for the Torchwood team. Or so they thought.

"Rift activity!" Tosh yelled from her computer, "And lot's of it!"

Owen snapped awake and almost fell off the table in surprise. "Where's Jack?" he called before yawning.

"I'm texting him the coordinates," Toshiko cried, her phone already in her hand as she rushed about, gathering her coat and the keys. "Hurry Owen! And text Gwen, we're going to need her."

Owen stumbled up the stairs after her. "Was it that big?" he asked.

Tosh turned, looking him dead in the eye, "Bigger."

The pair ran. They sprinted until they were out of breath and opening car doors. Owen in driver seat and Tosh in passenger. "It's getting bigger!" she exclaimed, "We need to get there before the government."

"Agreed," Owen replied, "Will they notice it?"

"It's going to cause power outages through all of Cardiff," Tosh cried, "Oh course they're going to bloody notice it! Now drive!"

Owen floored it and the car raced out of the garage and towards the edge of the city where there seemed to be a severe electrical storm brewing. The air crackled as a hole was punched through time and the universe folded in itself. Through all of it fell a bright light.

A little girl in her bedroom, not knowing much about the universe looked out the window of the little flat she shared with her mother. "Mommy?" she asked, "Is that a falling angel?" That's what she thought.

Her mother reassured her that no, it was just a piece of rock that had fallen from space. That's all it could possibly be. Then she went back to trying to fix the lights as adults will do.

The little girl turned and looked back out the window. If it was a meteor, then it was a shooting star. And everyone knows that shooting stars grant wishes. She shut her eyes, she held her breath, and wished for her guardian angel.

Tosh and Owen pulled up to the supposed meteors crater. Inside was a ship but the metal was so twisted that it would be impossible for anything to survive. They descended into the smoldering earth as a second car pulled up followed quickly by a third. Out of the first climbed Jack and Ianto, who had never gotten the pizza, out of the second climbed Gwen who left her husband in the car to care for their daughter. They all stood at the edge as Owen peered into the wreckage, expecting to see a shredded body of any sort.

"It's empty!" he called, looking back at the three, "Someone should look around for the driver."

Gwen disappeared instantly, quickly followed by the others. Tosh stayed, examining the ship for any sign of anything. Owen stayed with her.

The craft was small, built for short distances and extreme pressure. If it hadn't been for the rift, whoever was driving would've easily survived the crash. Unfortunately, it was all but ripped in half. The entire thing was held together by only three wires.

Gwen, Ianto, and Jack fanned out, searching for a dead body. They searched all around the trees, errand bushes, anywhere. In the end, it was Gwen who screamed.

The girl looked so human. Her hair had burned away from every inch of her body and so had most of her clothes. Every bone seemed to be broken, even her head twisted at an odd angle. The most horrific part of the scene, everyone simultaneously agreed without a single word spoken. The most horrific part was her wings. They were half feathered, gold and chocolate that had been blackened and burned. They spread out behind her and twisted at the most gut wrenching angles.

It wasn't until he saw the incredibly slight rise and fall of her shredded chest, that Jack leaned down to make sure she was alive. Her heartbeat was almost nonexistent and each breath came with an awful gurgling, but she was there. Somehow, the angel had survived.

 _So... Yeah. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this story. It mostly depends on the response I get from the people of the interwebs. I hope you liked it and I have a lot more planned._


	2. Chapter 1 - Comatose

She couldn't think. If she tried to think it would kill her. Her head and body would kill her. Vaguely she could hear voices around her. They were too loud. Why wouldn't they just go the hell away? She tried to block them out, but that had a feeling equivalent to a hammer slamming into her skull. It was better to just not think. At all. Ever. She should just let go. She should just float away into that beautiful black oblivion. But even that hurt.

Then she felt them, they were moving her. It hurt so bad that she almost tried to cry out in pain. A soft gurgling escaped her lips. Her throat was raw. It burned with every difficult breath. More voices. They were louder this time. She tried to tell them to let her die this painful death awash in blissful silence. More gurgles. Blood. That's what it was. It was the blood bubbling in the back of her throat. No wonder it hurt so bad.

The numbing started somewhere, though she wasn't exactly sure where. It cleared away all thought and eased her into sleep.

When she regained semi-consciousness, it was to more pain. This pain was different. It was dull, but hung over her like a knife tied by a thread. She couldn't open her eyes, and there was something in her mouth. She tried to reach up to remove it but her hands were strapped to the table by her sides. Her legs, she quickly found, were strapped down as well. Further investigation revealed that the thing in her mouth ran all the way down her throat and was keeping her breathing. Perfect. Just friggin' perfect.

Sudden feather light touches ran down her arm. She tried to turn, to see who was there. But her head wouldn't turn and her eyes wouldn't open. It was then that she realized that she wasn't strapped down, she was paralyzed. She simply couldn't move. The touch reached her hand and sat there.

A voice. Female and with an accent the girl had never heard. "Hey there…" It was soft, scared, worried. Why was whoever it was so damn worried? "It's Gwen again…" Gwen, strange name. "Owen says you're showing signs of getting better. I really hope you do."

The girl wished she could speak. She wished she could say something to reassure this 'Gwen' lady. She tried to squeeze her hand. Even the slightest movement to show her that everything would be okay.

Gwen sighed. "Jack says I should stop visiting you. He says that if you don't wake up it will kill me." She sighed again. What was it with her and sighing. "I know you'll wake up though. You're getting better." She squeezed the girls hand lightly, sharpening the pain ever so slightly, "If only we knew how bad the brain damage is."

Brain damage. Is that why she was paralyzed? She struggled again, fighting an internal battle. Trying to move. Even if it was slight. A twitch, a sound, something anything. She her a series of loud beeps and Gwen shouting. She was calling for Owen. Yes. Get Owen. Make him wake her up. There was the slap of shoes, giving the girl a picture of the room she was in. It was small and circular.

Shouts, loud and cracking at her skull. "Get back Gwen!" It was a male this time. He was terrified of something. "Her heart rate is spiking!" This male must be Owen.

She felt hands on her then the dull pain started to disappear. Something strange was happening. Darkness crept into the edges of her mind and slowly swallowed her whole.

Regaining consciousness for a second time was just as painful as the first. It tore apart every thought that there was a possibility of existence without pain. The tube was still down her throat which was extremely irritating. Then again, she wasn't sure if she would be able to breath without it. So instead of trying to do anything that would only make her want to die, she sat back and listened.

Close by was the sound of machines beeping and whirring away. She figured these were the machines keeping her alive. That was a simple enough answer.

Distantly, she could hear laughter and the drum of multiple feet on the floor. She was able to pick out each voice, but not the words it spoke. It was only mildly irritating, but the fact that she was able to hear at all.

"What's this?"

The voice was vaguely familiar. Footsteps approached the bed she was lying on.

"Blood pressure went up… That's odd."

If she could've she would've shouted his name in surprise. Owen. The man from before. She Wished she could move and show him she was alive.

"So are you gonna wake up now?" he asked. She felt his hand against her throat, double checking her heart rate. "That would be really nice if you could."

Part of this was making her angry. Did he really think she was staying like this on purpose. She would give anything to be off the damn cot and flying like she was meant to be. She wished she had the ability to scream that at him.

"Calm down little missy."

Now that was just rude. She wanted nothing more than to punch him right in the nose. Too bad her arm was glued to the bed.

"I'm serious. You seem to be reacting to my words, so I'm guessing you can hear me."

Hm. He was definitely smarter than she had expected. 'Yes,' she wanted to shout, 'I can hear you.' She was tired, and everything hurt, and she was so lost and confused.

His hand brushed her cheek. It was soft, and made her want to cry more than she already wanted to. "Don't worry love. I'll up your meds. You'll be out of it for a while, but when you wake up, I'll be here to explain everything."

She wished she could nod or give some signal that she had heard him. There was a soft beeping and the darkness swept over her mind once again.

The fourth time she awoke, there was a steady beep. The tube that had run down her throat was gone. She parted her lips ever so slightly and took a deep breath. Bad idea. Her throat lit on fire. When she tried to open her eyes, it was to complete darkness. Her fist thought was that she had gone blind. She blinked several times and items began to take shape. She was staring up at a ceiling. With strange light fixtures aimed down at her. They had been turned off for reasons she could not yet identify. She attempted to turn her head and found that she couldn't. Damn… She was still paralyzed. She really hoped it wasn't anything permanent.

The pain was still there. That was definite. It wasn't as apparent as it had been before, and easily pushed to the back of her mind.

She took another deep breath. This one was easier than the last. It revealed more about the room she was in. All sorts of chemicals surrounded her. The air was breathable, but awful. It burned her nostrils and tasted absolutely horrible. She sorted through her body in her mind. Broken bones. Lots of them. Most were half-healed meaning she'd been out for a long while. The chemicals in her blood made it nearly impossible to tell how long it had been. She guessed two weeks at the least.

There were also burns. They were extensive, but wouldn't scar. Well, some of them would. But none would be too noticeable. She sighed, wishing she could move.

After a while of laying on the table she supposed she must've fallen asleep, because she woke up to a nearby light turning on and voices.

"Damn Jack," said the first, "It's a good thing I've started packing spare clothes. That's the third night in a row I've spent at Torchwood."

"You could just, I dunno, move in," said a second.

The girl assumed this was Jack. Something about his voice screamed 'authority.' He was the one in charge. She knew he was. Or at least he thought he was. It was more likely that the man he was with called the shots without Jack knowing it.

"The others should be here soon," said the first man, "I'll go start the coffee."

"I'll go check on Birdie," Jack replied, "Owen said she should be waking up any day now."

Owen! The girl knew that name. He was the one that Gwen had called in when the beeping machine had started going off. He'd done something that made her pain go away. Then again, he might've been the one responsible for her paralysis. That just left the question: Who was Birdie?

The footsteps approaching her answered that question quickly enough. She shut her eyes and slowed her mind. If she was going to wake up for anyone, it wasn't going to be Jack. No. She had to wake up for the right person.

She heard the footsteps stop nearby and a sigh. He wasn't close, but he could see her from wherever he was standing. She expected him to leave, but was instead met with the sound of feet on stairs as he descended into whatever room she was in.

He sighed again when he reached her bedside.

"Hey…" he said, his voice soft, sounding almost embarrassed to be talking to her, "You probably don't know much of what's been happening for the past couple weeks…"

Well no friggin' duh. She was in a friggin' coma. At least what Gwen had said was somewhat sensible.

"I know I should come down here and visit you more, everyone else stops in at least once a week, Gwen checks in hourly. Owen spends most of his days monitoring your vitals." Another sigh. What was with this man and his deplorable amount of sighs? "The truth is… I'm terrified."

That was unexpected. It was almost enough to make her open her eyes and look at him.

"Everyone is so sure you're gonna wake up. It's a fact to them. But I know your species. Your body may be alive, but… I'm terrified that the conscious part of your mind is gone…"

She almost wanted to sigh. Was this guy always so depressing?

"Look, if you can hear me like everyone seems to think you can, please wake up. If not to prove me wrong, then to prove them right. Gwen would be absolutely crushed if you didn't make it. Tosh would bury herself in work and never come out. I don't even want to think what would happen to Owen. So please, if you can, wake up for them. They really need it."

She felt his hand run along her head. And was surprised to find that she couldn't feel it running through her hair. What had happened to her hair? It was horrible having so many questions and no way to ask them.

His hand trailed to hers and squeezed it lightly. If she had been able to move her face, she would've smiled. Unfortunately, she could only lay there and listen as he walked away. Distantly she could hear the other man yelling about coffee, whatever the hell that was, and ever further away was the sound of a door. When she knew that Jack was gone, she sighed. It was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 2 - Shatter

It was another long while before anyone bothered showing up. She spent most of it staring up at the ceiling and trying to move any part of her body that wasn't her eyelids. She was sure she managed to fall asleep yet again because when she opened her eyes for what felt like the billionth time, the light was on and making its best attempt to sear them out of her skull.

"Uunnnuughhh..." she groaned, though her mouth barely opened. A sound! She'd made a sound! An awful sound, but a sound nonetheless.

"What the-?"

Damn. She better not've woken up for Jack.

"Oh my god." A face appeared in the periphery of her vision. Then moved so it was staring down at her. It was not a half bad face to wake up to, with dark eyes and dark hair. The lines around its eyes screamed of a constant, mild irritation but when he looked at her he waas grinning.

"You're awake!" he cried, and the girl knew who he was.

'Owen?' she tried to ask, but it came out more along the lines of "Uuuuoooonnnn..."

"Oh my god... You're awake!"

Why the hell was he so excited? She was still in pain. She couldn't move at all. All she could do was blink and make loud groaning noises. Screw consciousness, in this state she might as well be dead.

"Can you speak? Please tell me you can speak..."

Was he daft? Did he hear the noises she was making. No she couldn't speak. This should've been damned obvious from the long loud groaning sounds. Still, she might as well give it a try. "Nnnnnnuuuuuu." Well, so much for that attempt.

The beeping from the nearby machine was getting faster. It pierced her skull and made her feel like her mind was going to burst. She tried looking its direction, internally begging him to turn it off so she could think.

He followed her gaze with his own, quickly reaching over and turning the machine to a lower volume. She sighed in relief. That felt much better. Her body still felt like every inch of it was being smashed by a hammer, but at least she was free to think for a little while. She turned her gaze back to him.

He was studying her face with a certain intensity. "I should let the others know..." he muttered.

She frowned, or at least attempted to. The last thing she wanted was for a bunch of people to staring at her as she tried to articulate thoughts into phrases when she couldn't even move her lips to say the simplest words. He must've somehow understood her because he smiled.

"Or Jack can screw himself and I can try to get what information I can. It's nothing too personal, just who you are and what you remember along with some quick medical tests."

She wished she could've nodded for him, but all she could manage was the slight almost upturn at the corners of her mouth.

He smiled back and nodded slightly. "Good glad we can agree on something. Just let me get some paperwork..." He disappeared out of her sight, looking couldn't imagine why, all he needed was the papers and his pen. He reappeared a moment later, "I'm Owen by the way. Just so you know."

His footsteps remained in the room. He moved about the room muttering to himself. "Pen... Pen... Where's a damn pen?"

Another set of footsteps approached. The girl quickly shut her eyes. She didn't even know why she didn't want Jack to find out she was awake. The thought of it simply terrified her in a way she couldn't put words to.

"Owen?" it was a girls voice. It was Gwen's voice!

"Is it noon already?" Owen asked. Did that mean Gwen visited everyday at noon? Did people on this planet actually do that?

"I'm actually running late," Gwen replied. Her voice was light and humorous. The girl kept her eyes closed, waiting to see if Owen would tell Gwen she was awake.

"Oh, well I was just going to run some quick tests..." Owen said. He sounded distinctly nervous.

"Owen you're a terrible liar." The girl had to agree with Gwen on that one. He sounded far too rushed and nervous to be telling the truth. If the girl knew anything, she knew he was probably averting his eyes and playing with his paperwork.

"Fine... But she didn't want me to tell anyone." Specifically Jack. She was actually fine with Gwen knowing.

"She's awake?!" Gwen cried.

"Shh!" Owen replied, "I don't want the others to know just yet. I want her to be able to, I don't know, process whatever she learns in privacy, rather than with everyone staring at her."

The girl wished she could thank him. That was all she wanted at the moment.

"Do you think it would help if I held her hand?" Gwen asked.

"You'd have to ask her..." She could feel their eyes on her. It made her wish she could wiggle off the table and fly off to hide in a cloud.

"Excuse me..." she felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes. The woman had black hair. It fell straight down. She also had crooked teeth which the girl found endearing. Her eyes were dark and full of care. The girl already knew that this woman had a heart of gold. She could see it in those eyes. "I'm Gwen." She was nervous, so incredibly nervous. The girl smiled at her, encouraging her to continue. "I-," Gwen took a deep breath, "I know everything is kind of... strange right now, and..."

The girl smiled again. She already knew how Gwen was going to finish the sentence, and she welcomed the small comfort offered. In fact, she believed she needed it. Gwen disappeared into her peripheral view and she felt Gwen's hand wrap around her own. The touch brought a very slight amount of pain, but the girl didn't mind, she just wished she could squeeze Gwen's hand in return.

"Alright," Owen said, returning to view, "Since you can't really answer at the moment, I'm just going to ask yes or no questions. I want you to blink once for yes, twice for no, and three times if you need a break."

The girl blinked twice to show she understood. Gwen squeezed her hand reassuringly and she winced.

"I'm gonna start with what you feel," Owen continued, she felt his hand on the bottom of her foot, "Do you feel that?" Two blinks. He did this for each foot and all the way up her legs. Then each hand and all up her arms.

It wasn't until his hand brushed the tip of her wing that she remembered they were there. But his hand was touching skin, and the slight brush of his fingers brought a searing pain that ran all the way to her back. Her heart rate jumped making Gwen squeeze her hand painfully. "Nnnggghhh..." She tried to pull her hand away but her body wouldn't let her move.

Owen immediately pulled his hand away. "C-could you feel that?" Two blinks. "Did it hurt." Two blinks. He sighed and scribbled on his paper.

She could see him in the corner of her eye, scribbling away and purposely avoiding looking at her as her heart rate slowed. She swallowed. "Uuunnnggghh..." she groaned, trying to make him tell her. She needed to know what was wrong with her wings.

He sighed. "When you crashed, your wings weren't just broken, they were shattered. It's beyond my knowledge on how to fix them..." Nothing else he said mattered after that. Wings were fragile. Everyone knew that. And hers were shattered. Beyond repair. And all she could think was that she'd never fly again. That was the cold, hard truth. In the years she had left, she would never fly again. Without her wings... She'd woken up for nothing.

The realization hit her that Owen had stopped talking. The realization hit her that Gwen was wiping a tear away from her cheek. The realization hit her that she could never fly. Not ever.

Her head tilted into Gwen's touch, barely moving more than a millimeter. Then Owen was at her other side, his hand resting on her shoulder.

"Do you want us to leave?"

One blink. No. This wasn't easy to work with anymore. She needed them. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. She'd already spent far too much time like that.

"Do you want me to keep telling you what's wrong?"

Two blinks. He might as well. The worst of the news had already been delivered.

"Alright..." There was the rustling of papers before Owen cleared his throat, "You had a total of two hundred and thirty broken bones throughout your body. Most of them are healed by now. The only ones that aren't completely healed are this one," he tapped her hips, "These two," her thighs, "And this one," Her upper arm. "You were fully unconscious for almost two months. Fifty-two days to be exact. You sustained severe damage to what appears to be your spine. It's rather high in your neck, with several other damaged areas in other places below it. Your cells are brilliant though, they seem to regenerate at double the rate of any human."

She blinked three times. She had heard enough. More than enough actually. It might take up to a year, but once her cells regrew and were taught what to do, she would walk and talk just like any other intelligent species. True, it would take insane amounts of work, and she was fine with that, but this planet didn't have the one thing she truly needed. A doctor who knew how to fix her wings.

"It's okay love," Gwen murmured, wiping away the tear the girl didn't know she was crying, "I promise you, everything will be fine."

The girl wanted to scream. She wanted to scream and lash out at the pair who stood above her. She wanted them to know that nothing was going to be fine. It was going to be the extreme opposite of fine. She felt the tear trails down her cheeks, cold against her burning skin. It was too much. Everything was too much. She took a deep breath and looked at Gwen. She was crying to. Black trails were clear against her pale skin. No. She wouldn't lash out at Gwen. She couldn't lash out at Gwen. No matter how frustrated she was.

"You're getting better," Owen said on her other side, "Even in ways I didn't think were possible."

Of course he didn't think they were possible. He was a human. Humans didn't think anything was possible. Still, he was trying his hardest. She looked to him. He wasn't crying. His face showed almost no emotion at all. But she could still find it. He was scared, but excited. He was a doctor of some sort, and she was his latest challenge. Something he could've never imagined facing. He was only trying to help.

She took a deep breath and mustered her will power, trying to find a way to translate all the words she wanted to say into something they might be able to understand. What she ended up with, though it sounded frightfully dull, made both of them grin ever so happily.

She opened her mouth and the words fell out. "Daeng euoo."


	4. Chapter 3 - Angel Bird

After Owen left to get Jack, Gwen sat with the girl. She chatted at her simply trying to get her to smile or frown. Occasionally she would attempt to formulate a response, though it mostly came out sounding like 'Eow' or "Ewa eyee." Somehow Gwen understood.

It was as she was beginning to wonder what was taking so long that Owen's voice returned along with Jack's, the other mans, and another voice she had never heard before.

"So!" Jack cried, "She's awake!"

The girl moved her eyes, looking at him as he came into her view. She hadn't known what she expected, but the incredibly handsome, bright blue eyed man that stood in front of her was definitely not it. Behind him stood another man, still handsome, but not as much as Jack.

"Hello lovely," he said, "I'm Jack."

"Ewoh," was the best she could manage.

He grinned. Oh god he had suck a beautiful grin. Yet she still didn't like him. She couldn't figure out why. There was just something about him that terrified her. She pushed it to the back of her mind, hoping he wouldn't see the odd fear in her eyes.

"So," he said taking a seat and turning out of her view to talk to Owen, "Do you know how long it will be until she can speak clearly?"

"Considering the impressive amount of damage she's suffered," Owen began slowly, "It could be anywhere from a few days to several months. It's also quite possible that her voice will always be slurred." She could hear him nearby along with a strange clicking, "But you also have to factor in the way her nerves are able to repair themselves."

"So no rough estimate?" Jack pressed.

Owen took a deep breath. The girl wished she could sit up and look at them rather than laying on her cot feeling utterly useless. She wished she could try to help Owen figure out the medical stuff she was supposed to know.

"I'd say it'll probably be two or three days," Owen concluded, "If someone is down here helping her."

"I could do it," Gwen piped up. The girl felt bad. She'd been so focused on the men that she'd completely forgotten about the woman who was holding her hand.

"Thanks for volunteering Gwen," Jack said, his voice chipper.

The girl heard wheels on concrete and Jack rolled back into view. "Just wondering," he said simply, "Has anyone asked your name?"

The girl did her best to shake her head as she replied. "Nuh."

"Really?" Jack asked.

"Yuh," the girl said. She found that words were already easier to recall and it didn't cause a headache to try to think of them. Though sound still hurt. All the loud voices and the beeping of her machines. It was easily pushed away, but it still made her mind ache.

"What's your name then?" Jack asked still grinning down at her.

The girl opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. What was her name? Oh no. She couldn't remember her name. "Uh dunnuh," she said, panic lining the edges of her voice Why didn't she know her own name?!

"Calm down," Owen said his hand reaching over to rest on her arm, "You hit your head very hard. It's just amnesia."

God dammit. How would he feel if he woke up like this. No memory. Nothing but pain. Surrounded by strangers. She wriggled on the table, trying to prop herself up on her elbows but her damned limbs wouldn't move. Her fingers dug into her palm.

Then a hand covered hers. "Hey," she looked over, tears welling up in her eyes. Jack sat there. He looked worried. Those damned blue eyes were so scared. He opened his mouth, and spoke in a soft, calm tone. "It's gonna be alright," he said, "You're going to be just fine."

She shook her head. He was so incredibly wrong. She had no wings and no name. She was far from fine and couldn't see alright anywhere on the horizon.

"Owen," Jack called, "Is there any way we could sit her up? She should be able to see the team."

"Right!" Owen cried. There was a whirring noise and the girl groaned as the cot folded, lifting her so she was sitting upright and able to look around. She was positioned with her head to the wall of a circular room. Around her sat the three people she'd met along with not only Jack's man, but a woman with lightly tanned skin and a small smile. While the others sat around her bed, this woman was up on a platform. She leaned against a railing, curious but quiet.

"You already know Gwen, Owen, and I," Jack said, "But I just thought it would be good for you to meet Ianto and Toshiko." The man was Ianto, the woman Tosh.

"Hello," Toshiko called wiggling her fingers seeming excited. Ianto simply waved and nodded. He was acting odd, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. The girl eyed him, her expression somewhere between curious and confused. She smiled at them. "Ewoh," she called back.

"Remember," Jack said, his hand landing back on hers, "If you ever need anything. No matter how difficult the times, no matter how bad things seem. We'll be here."

Gwen smiled slightly. "It's funny," she murmured, "You've been here nearly five weeks and we've decided to keep you, even though this is our first conversation."

The girl smiled at Gwen. Then she frowned. Who was she? She took a deep breath. "Aem?" she asked. It still sounded like she was trying to talk while swallowing, "Mah aem?" She needed to know. These people didn't know what her name was, but it was worth a shot to ask.

"We know as much as you do," Jack said, "But for the past few weeks we've been referring to you as 'Angel' or 'Birdie'."

The girl wrinkled her nose at the names. She didn't like them. They were strange and foreign. She wanted her name. The name her mother gave her. But she didn't have that, and she'd have to make the decision soon. She opened her mouth to reply, but Toshiko interrupted.

"We need a first and last name for the system," she said quickly, "So we could just put the two together as Angel Bird…" She trailed off, unsure of the suggestion she'd made.

Jack looked at the girl, "How does that sound?"

She nodded. It wasn't the best, and it was so unfamiliar. Then again, she could feel a slight familiarity. That was probably from them using it when she couldn't hear them. Angel Bird. It felt better the more she repeated it. Angel Bird. She smiled at them all. "Ih wih afe oo oo," she said watching as they all grinned at her.

Well… she had a name. That was something. Sure it sounded a little rough, and it was a fairly irritating play on words, but it was something. And it was hers. Now to figure out what else she was missing.

She watched as Jack shooed everyone away, telling them to get back to work. She wondered what sort of work they did, but figured she would find out soon enough. They apparently all chatted with her and had some sort of emotional tie to her that she didn't have to them. She watched as Jack even shooed Owen out of his work station, then went and disabled a mechanism on the wall. Probably a recording device. It was hard to tell with the old bulky technology.

He walked over, taking the seat next to her bed. "Hey," he said softly, "I really didn't mean to have them all in here at once. As soon as they heard you were awake, they all came running." It was so incredibly strange. He sounded sincere, but she still didn't trust him. She wondered why.

A purple light flashed behind her eyes and she shook her head, clearing it away. "Ih-d oh-day," she replied, still hating the way she stumbled over the words.

"Not to mention I hate doing this here," Jack continued as if she'd never spoken, "Normally I'd do it in my office."

"Oo uht?" she inquired. He really was bad at explaining things, but maybe that was just her inexplicable dislike of him. She really couldn't tell yet.

Once again he continued as if she'd never spoken. "I'm not exactly sure how much you know," he said, "But I need to know everything"

"Oh-day…" she said, still incredibly confused.

"So, what's your name?"

"En-gel Bir," she answered, unable to enunciate her words.

"I mean your real name," he said seriously, "The one your society gave you when you were born."

What the friggin' hell was he talking about? She didn't remember her name. She'd said as much when she'd let them label her 'Angel Bird'. "Uh dun nu," she slurred, the tone of her voice insistent.

"Alright…" He rolled his eyes. Obviously at least part of him didn't believe her. That was irritating. "Can you tell me your species?"

She thought. She thought long. She thought hard. She couldn't remember. It was far less alarming than the thought of forgetting her name, but it was still a hard hit. It was her identity, and it had been completely wiped away.

The panic in her eyes must've been enough, because Jack rested his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he said softly, "I know. You're NorthWest Palkatorian, otherwise known as Nakataia Palkatorian."

The words were so simple, but they meant everything to her. She didn't understand what they were supposed to mean, but they eased her hopelessness. She did have an identity. She was somebody. She had a place she was from. She looked at Jack, waiting for him to continue. He obviously knew more about her than she did.

"Next question," he continued the second her gaze met hers, "Do you know your age?"

Once again she couldn't answer the question. It scared her. How much else did she not know about herself. If she couldn't remember her own age, how could she remember anything. The beeping from the machines was getting louder. She remembered Owen saying that meant her heart rate was spiking, which she remembered was a bad thing. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"Angel?" Jack asked, using her new name. Hearing it from someone else felt so strange yet so familiar. Part of her wondered if she'd ever accept that as the name they'd chosen for her. Most of her doubted it.

She looked at his anyways. Her eyes were filled with fear and uncertainty and fear. She didn't think she could handle anything.

"Do you know your age?"

The question was so simple, but she couldn't find the answer. Even though she already knew the blunt reality. Slowly, even though it caused the entirety of her body intense pain, she shook her head. No. She did not know her age. She did not know her name. She did not have functional wings. She was useless as a fighter, a thinker, a speaker. She was nobody. She had nothing. Only a blank slate.

It was as Jack sighed for what seemed like the billionth time that she realized something. She was a blank slate. She had no past, no name, no age. She had nothing. She had the chance to rewrite everything about herself. It didn't matter what was on the past, because here she knew she had a future. No matter what she knew she had a future.

Jack continued his interview. He asked questions she didn't know the answer to and she proudly told him exactly that. From then on, she didn't care. She was Angel. Angel Bird. It didn't matter who she'd been before. That person was gone. They were no more than dust in the wind. Angel was real. Angel was there. She was Angel. And that's all she cared about anymore.

 _Hey! I just wanted you to know that comments and follows are my lifeblood. So if you like something, comment! If you don't like something, comment! Anything to help me make the story more enjoyable for all of you._


	5. Chapter 4 - New Friends (Finally)

Owen had told her she'd have a fast recovery. But it was taking forever. It took almost a week before she had motion in her hands. Not her arms, just her hands. And nearly two weeks before she could speak like everyone else. Long story short, everything was awful. Everyone went about their daily business and she just sat in the med-bay, praying that they'd come visit.

She hated not being able to get up and move around. She hated the constant ache in the center of her back, right where her wings met her shoulders. It pounded day and night, hurting more than she thought could be possible.

Owen tried to help. He tried several times to slice open the skin and muscle to straighten the bones underneath. These attempt, did barely anything. Her wings weren't built like any Earth bird. They were more like feathered bat wings. But then they weren't remotely similar. The only way he'd be able to fix her was if they found another Palkatorian, which, according to Jack, would be impossible.

She sighed, laying her head back on her bed. Two weeks and she had only seen the walls of the med-bay. She was going to go insane if this lasted much longer.

The same five faces telling the same stories about their lives. She needed to get out and make her own stories. None of them wanted to hear about the latest crack in the wall or the shadow that was constantly hanging in the corner of her eye.

Sigh. Goddamn it. she was turning into one of them. They weren't there. They were out on a mission. Walking. Running. What she wouldn't do to have even that. The comfort in the ability to wiggle her fingers had worn off long ago. She wanted to make a fist. She wanted to pick something up. She wanted to move off the goddamn cot.

Voices. That was fast. It normally took longer than an hour.

"So she's this way?" a woman. An unfamiliar woman. Strangely relieving. Angel had begun to wonder if there was even a world outside what the others called Torchwood Three. Then again, if it was three there had to be one and two.

"Yes Mrs. Smith," that was definitely Ianto. He knew her, it was the almost joking way he said, 'Mrs'. "Though I will warn you that she doesn't know your here. Gwen thought it would be better as a surprise." There was that familiar smile in his voice. So he not only knew her, but he thought of her as a friend. That should be good.

Angel had been almost been surprised to find that she actually liked Ianto. Once she had realized that he was just the coffee boy and had no intentions of ordering anybody about, all her previous misconceptions had melted away. She didn't exactly trust him at all times, but she enjoyed his company in small doses.

He appeared with a dark skinned, dark haired, dark eyed woman and for the millionth time Angel wondered if everyone on the planet was so impossibly gorgeous. "Oh my…" the woman breathed, "She's…" she shook her head.

Angel knew how she probably looked. Owen had her laying on her back so she could see what was happening. The pad had divots cut in the shoulders so that her wings could be pulled to either side. They were still mangled, but at least looked wing-like. As for the rest of her, she'd undergone multiple surgeries and hadn't bathed for nearly a week and a half. She probably looked like something out of the pits of hell.

She swallowed inhibition and spoke. "…Unnerving? Broken?" she offered, "Or were you going to say, 'an angel'? Because that's my name."

The woman smiled and stepped forward. Her movements were awkward, as if her center of gravity had recently changed. "I was going to say breathtaking." She set her hand down on top of Angel's, "Martha Smith," she said sweetly, "UNIT Medical Officer."

"Angel Bird," Angel replied, wrapping her fingers around Martha's, "Torchwood Three's greatest catch." She smiled. She liked Martha, she had a certain glow to her.

"So I'm guessing Mickey doesn't know you're here?" Ianto said, reaching out to take the thick black jacket that wrapped around her shoulders, "I really doubt he'd approve."

"You speak as though I care what Mickey approves of," Martha joked, leaving Angel wondering who the hell Mickey was. From the way Martha spoke about them, she could only assume he was some sort of significant other. Or, at least she hoped he was.

"So he's at the hotel while you investigate?" Ianto asked.

"Most likely hanging around the back door waiting for me to appear," Martha retorted.

Angel liked listening to them. She hoped she could one day banter like they did. But first she'd have to find someo-… Her eyes were drawn to Martha's figure. Without the coat on it was quite obvious. Ianto smiled at her stomach.

"And how's baby Jack?" he asked, running his hand along it's obvious curve.

"Unusually quiet," Martha said, copying his movements, "It's got Mickey more worried than usual."

"Of course it does," Ianto smiled, "Now I'm going to give you three some privacy." He smiled at Angel before turning and walking out of the med-bay with Martha's jacket over his arm.

Angel watched him go. Her eyes lingered on the archway for a moment before she turned to Martha. The woman looked so nervous and curious.

"So…" Angel said, trying to break the silence, but she didn't actually know what to say. It was incredibly frustrating.

"Oh!" Martha stepped back, grabbing a spare lab coat off the hook, "You probably have a lot of questions for me." She was so flustered, and eager but unsure. Angel wondered if she was always like this.

"Yes, I do," Angel said, measuring each word with a great deal of care, "There's the usual ones like: 'What are you doing here? Why am I supposed to be excited?' But then there's the other ones such as: 'Who's Mickey?' and: 'Is it safe to assume that you're going to have a baby?' The forth one probably makes more sense to someone who's traveled quite a bit though." She realized she was rambling and cut herself off. She looked at Martha, and she was smiled. It was strange having someone so interested in listening to her nonsense. Gwen did sometimes, but she was mostly just complaining about Rhys or showing off the latest pictures of Anwen.

Martha laughed and began digging through a black filling bag she'd brought with her. "I'll begin with the 'other' questions," She said, her smile turning into a grin, "Mickey is my husband. We met through a mutual friend. Coincidentally the same friend who introduced the two of us to Jack. Yes, I'm having a baby boy. Mickey and I have already agreed to name him Jack Tyler Smith-Jones. Though we'll be calling him Jack." She paused and smiled, "This must be awfully boring for you."

"Not at all," Angel said honestly. She loved hearing anything about the world outside Torchwood. She craved it. Needed it. Meeting a new person, especially one as lovely as Martha, was an almost magical experience.

"Alrighty then," she said, finally pulling a thick folder out of the case, "It's time to talk about why you should be happy to see me." She set the folder on the desk, letting it fall open to the familiar x-rays. "Owen and I have been in contact ever since you fist fell. He understands that I have to share the information with UNIT eventually and SHIELD might even bargain for it though it won't do them any good if Hydra's still involved…"

She was rambling, but Angel held on to her every word. This was more information than any of the others had ever let her here. They were all so busy discussing their own lives that they never talked about anything else. Maybe she should start asking for things to read.

Martha was now pinning sketches and x-rays to the board where Owen had been pinning all Angel's information. There were several different ones, all trying to find different ways to reset her bones.

"… but what happened in Sokovia was absolutely awful. Thank god SHIELD covered up UNIT's help with all the clean up. Unlike them, we actually like remaining secret." Martha turned. "I'm boring you again, aren't I?"

"Not at all!" Angel insisted, "The others don't really talk about what happens outside of Torchwood."

"Of course they don't," she smiled sweetly, "Now, back on track." She turned back to the board, "As you can see, I've been trying to find a design that would work to fix your wings and make it so you're at least get them to fold back correctly. Once we accomplish that we'll push for flying." She paused, tapping one of the sketches, "I had an engineer help me with this one. It looks the most promising, but I want Owen to have a look at it."

She fell silent, deep in thought. Angel attempted to push herself into more of a sitting position. She had been spending way too much time in one position. She was amazed to find her elbows bending enough to push herself up. "So, they called you in specifically to rebuild my wings?" She asked. It seemed like a lot of work just for one alien.

Martha nodded. "I owed Owen a favor. He took a bullet for me a few years ago. If you ask he might show you the scar. In fact if you say my name he'll show you the scar. He is incredibly proud of it." She laughed to herself, "Besides, it's been a fun project to fill my spare time. The only reason it took more than a week is because I have no spare time." She shrugged. "It's really no big deal."

It was a big deal. It was a huge deal. She may not see it, but it really was a huge deal. This woman knew nothing about Angel, yet she'd managed to find the time to do something amazing for her. "Well even if you don't think it's a big deal," Angel said, measuring her every word to try to get her point across in the clearest way possible, "It's a huge deal for me. Thank you. For everything." She wished those words were enough to show Martha how much it meant, but they weren't.

Martha turned. She was smiling. It was such a beautiful smile. "It's a new challenge. Do you know how many engineers I had to talk to to figure this out. Your bones would have to fit in a very exact way that is incredibly hard to figure out. Even after three months we couldn't find an exact design that could work." She frowned. "I think you should know… I walked in here thinking I know what I'm doing, but now that you're sitting here, in front of me… I don't think I do…"

Angel, by some strange miracle lifted her hand and set it on top of Martha's. "It will be okay," she said, "I know it sounds crazy, but I trust you. I know you can help me, I know we face a lot of disappointment, but I trust you. I really do." It was true. Any thoughts that the woman before her thought of her as only an experiment were dispelled. This woman was here to help her. She smiled at Martha.

Martha smiled back, squeezing her hand. "I'm sorry for that disappointment to start early," she said, humor in her tone, "But Owen isn't supposed to be back until tomorrow and I don't want to do anything too big without him. Also my spouse won't stop texting me and Little Jack won't stop kicking."

Angel laughed. "It's okay. If you need to go then you can go. Everyone around here has places they need to be, and I'll be here when you get back." She smiled and watched as Martha smiled, packed up, and left. It really was okay. Something told her that Martha wasn't going to be gone for long. None of the others were ever gone for more than a few days after all.

 _Sorry to bother you my beautiful people. I just wanted to remind you that votes and comments really do determine how quickly I'll update. I love writing and working and I know I should write for myself, but the audience matters as much or more than my opinions. So really don't be afraid to tell me what you think. It really helps._

 _Also: Sorry for not updating in a while. I've been dealing with family and graduation shtuffs._


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